Rags to Riches
by Razzle
Summary: FLUFF Oneshot! Jessie, James and Meowth decide to put their costume making skills to use by making costumes to sell. But it doesn't turn out quite as they planned. Along the way, Team Rocket and everyone else find out that Halloween is also about giving.


"We're going to be so rich!" Jessie yelled exuberantly.

"We'll have so much money!" James squealed, squinching his eyes shut and grinning.

"You and Me-owth, kids, we're gonna be livin' the high life!" Meowth agreed.

Team Rocket had a plan. A get-rich-quick-plan. Halloween was coming up soon, and the three feisty villains had decided to put their skills at making costumes to a very profitable use. If they could make costumes that fooled the Twerps again and again despite how long they'd known Team Rocket, then they could _surely_ make costumes fantastic enough to sell for Halloween!

"We'll have to work quickly, though," Jessie reasoned. "Halloween is only two weeks away."

"Where are we going to get all that material?" James wondered. He and Jessie both put their chins in their hands and looked thoughtful. "Hmm," they said together.

"No problem!" Meowth popped up in front of them, holding up two different colored pieces of fabric. "I saved all this from the last time youse two were making costumes to try to capture Pikachu."

"It almost worked, too," James sulked.

"Yeah," Jessie growled. "If only Bulbasaur hadn't used its Vine Whip attack to rip up our costumes, the Twerps would still think we were a couple of lost circus clowns!"

The three sighed, then instantly perked up again as they remembered their scheme.

"Let's get to work!" they shouted in unison. There was a flurry of motion as Team Rocket snatched up the piles of fabric that Meowth had saved and started busily designing and sewing costumes as fast as they could.

* * *

"Halloween costumes for sale!" Meowth called out exuberantly, waving his paws importantly in the air. James stood nearby with an enormous smile on his face as he bent over to hand a costume to a small child. "Here you go," he said happily.

"Good work, James!" Jessie said, grinning approvingly with her hands on her waist. "How much did you get for that one?"

James looked crestfallen. "I forgot!"

Jessie gave James an angry look. "You mean you just GAVE it away?" she demanded. "How are we supposed to get rich that way?" She sighed. "Oh, well. I guess we'll just have to - hmm?" Distracted by a sound several feet in the other direction, Jessie stopped talking and turned curiously to see what it was. James and Meowth also turned to look.

"It's okay, Growlithe," a little girl, perhaps eleven or twelve years old, was telling her Pokemon. The trainer was sitting on the ground holding a ripped-up costume in her lap while her Growlithe looked at her sadly.

"Growl?" it said apologetically.

"I know you didn't mean to tear up my costume," the trainer reassured her Pokemon, petting it behind the ears and putting on a smile. "Maybe I should have thought of something else to be besides another Growlithe. I know you were just trying to play."

"Growl-iiiiithe!" the Growlithe agreed, rubbing against its trainer's hand. Laughing, the trainer scooped it up into a hug.

"That's so sad," Jessie said, clenching her hands into fists as the tears streamed down her cheeks.

"We should do something!" James agreed, also crying and making fists with his hands.

"Me-owth, that's right!" Meowth said between sobs as he wiped a paw across his eyes.

Team Rocket rushed over to the surprised trainer and Pokemon's side, holding out a gleaming Mr. Mime costume. "We couldn't help but overhear what you were saying," Jessie told the trainer, beaming. "So we'd like you to accept this free sample, courtesy of Team Rocket Fashions, Halloween Department!"

James nodded, smiling from ear to ear.

The little girl blinked uncertainly at them. "Team Rocket?" she echoed in a bit of confusion. "But I thought you just stole Pokemon?"

Jessie, James, and Meowth fell over sideways onto the ground with a unanimous groan of surprise. Meowth was the first to recover. "Yeah, well we also make costumes too! Got that? So here." Smiling, he held out the costume again. "This is for you."

"Thanks," the girl said, blushing. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." The trainer stood up and bowed politely. "Thank you again! I'll be sure to tell anyone I see without a costume to come shop from you!" Grinning, she turned to her Pokemon. "Come on, Growlithe! Let's go!" Laughing, the trainer ran off happily with her Growlithe beside her.

* * *

"So whaddaya wanna be for Halloween, Pikachu?" Ash asked his Pokemon.

"Pika," Pikachu said uncertainly with a shrug.

"Yeah, I don't know what I wanna be either," Ash agreed.

"Hey, look!" Brock called out, pointing ahead.

"Isn't that Team Rocket?" Misty asked.

"Yeah, I wonder what they're up to," Brock responded.

"Let's go check it out!" Ash said, and the three ran over to where Team Rocket was sitting by the heaps of costumes they were trying to sell.

"Those look like-" Misty started, then broke off.

"-Halloween costumes?" Ash finished for her.

"So what?" James asked defensively as he sprang to his feet. "Being bad guys is fun, but it doesn't always pay the bills!"

"That's right," Jessie agreed, also leaping to her feet. "Even dishonest criminals can be honest businessmen!"

"Okay, okay," Brock said placatingly, putting his hands up in front of him as if to stave off an argument. "We were just curious. Besides, we haven't got our Halloween costumes yet. What have you got?"

"Well, when you put it that way," Jessie said with a grin, "just what are you looking for?" She and James each waved an arm over the expanse of costumes.

"Every costume is one-of-a-kind," James added proudly.

"So what'll it be?" Meowth chimed in.

Ash, Misty, Brock and Pikachu looked over the costumes curiously. "Hey, look!" Misty shouted, picking up one of the costumes. "An Officer Jenny outfit!" She tried it on, and spun in a circle with a delighted giggle.

"I wanna be something _scary_ for Halloween," Ash said, excitedly picking up a Ghastly costume. He tried it on, then turned to his Pokemon. "Whaddaya think, Pikachu? Hey," he realized, taking off his baseball cap and putting it on Pikachu's head. "You can be my trainer!"

"Pikapi," Pikachu giggled, looking adoringly at Ash.

"Hmm," Brock said as he looked around at the piles of costumes. "I'm not sure what I want to be."

Misty picked up a white lab coat and some empty pokeballs. "Why don't you go as a Pokemon Professor?" she suggested.

"Hey, that's a great idea, Misty! Thanks," Brock agreed, taking the costume from her.

"So how much is all this gonna cost?" Ash asked.

"Well, let's see," James said, pulling out a calculator.

"I've still got plenty of money from my allowance," Misty said, pulling the cash out of her pocket and holding it up. "I know you two spend it as soon as you get it!"

Just then, a masked bandit dashed past, knocking Misty to the ground, and snatched the money out of her hand.

"Oh, no!" Misty shouted as she hit the ground. "Ow!"

"Hey! Come back here!" Ash yelled at the disappearing thief. He gave chase with Pikachu beside him, but the thief had already vanished. Ash and Pikachu had no choice but to give up. They returned to the others. "I'm sorry, Misty," Ash apologized. "He got away."

"Are you okay, Misty?" Brock asked in concern, reaching down to offer her a hand up.

Misty sat on the ground where she'd fallen, rubbing one sore elbow. "I'm fine," she said, accepting Brock's hand and getting to her feet. "But that thief took my whole allowance!"

Team Rocket exchanged a look, then Meowth extended a piece of paper to Misty. He looked at her solemnly and said, "Here's your receipt. Three costumes, paid in full."

_After all,_ James thought. _We know what it's like to be completely penniless!_ He knew that Jessie and Meowth were thinking along similar lines.

Misty looked at Meowth in wonder, and took the receipt. "Wow, thank you," she said quietly. "I don't know what to say."

"But why would you do that?" Ash asked. "You mean you're just _giving_ them to us?"

"I guess Team Rocket knows what it's like to be broke," Brock suggested thoughtfully.

"Don't read too much into it," James protested, embarrassed that Brock had said what he'd just been thinking. Then, at a loss for what else to say, he smiled and added, "Happy Halloween!"

"Thanks, Team Rocket!" Ash called over his shoulder as the three trainers ran off with their new costumes, waving back at Team Rocket.

"We won't forget this!" Misty called back.

"Thanks!" Brock agreed.

"Don't mention it," Jessie called fiercely after them. She smirked, put her hands on her waist, and added in a quiet tone of affection, "Twerps."

* * *

"Excuse me," a handsome young doctor said as he walked up to Team Rocket. Jessie, James and Meowth instantly recognized Doctor Proctor.

"Why, hello there!" Jessie greeted him enthusiastically. Hearts shone in her eyes as she remembered how he had once saved her precious Arbok when it was injured.

"A young lady with a pet Growlithe suggested that I come see what costumes you have available for Halloween," Doctor Proctor went on. He smiled. "I've been far too busy to make my own costume. With all the kids trying out Halloween pranks on each other, I've had to work double shifts at the hospital."

"Well, that's what we're here for!" James said, nodding his head vigorously.

"Just look around," Meowth added, "and see what you'd like!"

"Hmm, let's see here," Doctor Proctor said, looking around. "They're all such lovely costumes. It's hard to choose!" After looking through several costumes, his eyes lit up. "I know!" he exclaimed, holding up a costume. "I'll go as a Jigglypuff. I've always wanted a chance to sing to an audience!"

"I think that's a wonderful idea!" Jessie agreed, grinning adoringly at him. "And since you saved my Arbok, I'd like to present this costume to you free of charge as thanks!"

"I couldn't agree more," James said. "You also saved my Weepinbell."

"And helped me find my charm!" Meowth added.

"Oh, no, that's really not neccessary," Doctor Proctor protested, flushing a little. "I was just doing my job, after all."

"No, no! We insist," Jessie insisted. Behind her, James and Meowth nodded in unison.

"Well, that's very kind of you," Doctor Proctor said gratefully. "Thank you! Bye-bye now," he added with a small wave as he walked off with his new Jigglypuff costume.

* * *

By the end of the day, Team Rocket's pile of costumes had dwindled until it totally disappeared.

As the last customer left and James smilingly waved them a farewell, Jessie turned to Meowth excitedly. "So, how much did we make?"

"Well, let's see," Meowth said, pulling out the money box.

"This is so exciting!" James squealed, nearly hopping up and down while he waited for Meowth to open the box.

"We must've made a ton of money with all those costumes!" Jessie agreed.

"And the grand total is," Meowth said dramatically, then flung the box lid open. He looked inside and gasped. "Nothing?"

"What? Nothing?" Jessie and James shouted together and leaned over Meowth's shoulders to see inside the box for themselves.

Team Rocket dropped despondently to the ground with a collective sigh.

"All that hard work for nothing," James moaned.

"I don't believe it!" Jessie said. "I just can't believe we gave every single one of those costumes away for free!"

"Yeah," Meowth agreed. "Now instead of bein' the cat's meow, we're in the dog house."

"Halloween's tomorrow," Jessie added. "Even if we had more material we couldn't sell enough costumes by then to make much money!"

"I guess we're failures again," James sighed.

The three tired entrepreneurs drooped their heads and groaned.

"Oh, well," Jessie said with resignation. "Let's go home."

* * *

Two days later, Jessie, James and Meowth were sitting in a clearing planning their latest scheme to capture Pikachu when they heard a twig snap nearby.

"What was that?" James asked, springing to his feet.

Officer Jenny appeared out of the trees and stood just inside the edge of the clearing. "Team Rocket! I've finally found you," she announced triumphantly.

Jessie and Meowth leaped up to stand next to James. "What do you want?" Jessie demanded nervously. Team Rocket had had many close scrapes with the law in the past.

"We've been looking all over for you," Officer Jenny said, her whole face beaming with a broad smile. "Okay, guys! Bring it all on over to this clearing!"

As Team Rocket stared around in confusion and amazement, people and Pokemon started pouring into the clearing around them - the little girl with her Growlithe, Doctor Proctor, the Twerps and Pikachu, and everyone else who had gotten their Halloween costumes from Team Rocket... and every one of them was holding a bag or a bucket of candy!

"We wanted to thank you for being so nice and giving us all such great costumes," Misty explained with a grin.

"Yeah," Ash agreed. "So we decided to share our candy with you!"

"Pika pika!" Pikachu nodded its own agreement with Ash and Misty.

"Mm-hmm," Brock said, nodding as well.

Once everyone had poured out their candy into a big stack for Team Rocket, there was at least as big a pile of candy as the pile of costumes the trio had started out with.

"I'm speechless," Jessie said in awe.

"Me too," James sobbed, tears of gratitude streaking down his face.

"Maybe we _did_ get rich, after all!" Meowth exclaimed suddenly.

"Huh?" Jessie said, as she and James turned to Meowth.

"What do you mean?" James asked quizzically.

"We may not have made a lot of money," Meowth explained. "But we sure made a lot of friends. I'd say that makes us pretty rich, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah, you're right!" Ash agreed. "Making friends with Misty and Brock, and all the other friends I've met along the way, has sure been the best part of my Pokemon adventure."

"For sure," Brock said.

"Right," Misty echoed.

"Why don't you three come back to town with us, Team Rocket?" Officer Jenny invited. "You can come to our After-Halloween Halloween party!"

Team Rocket looked at each other.

"Why not?" Jessie said with a grin.

"Let's go!" Meowth agreed.

"I love parties!" James squealed.

"Okay, everybody, follow me!" Officer Jennny shouted, waving a hand, and led everyone back to town for the party.


End file.
